LA County Takes Urgent Action to Equitably Improve Traffic Safety and Mitigate Traffic Fatalities in High Priority Areas at Chair Mitchell’s Direction
LOS ANGELES, Calif.— Today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (Board) unanimously approved Board Chair Holly J. Mitchell’s motion calling for countywide street safety solutions to strengthen the prevention of dangerous driving behavior and traffic related fatalities. Prior to the tragic car crash that occurred on August 4, 2022 – at the intersection of Slauson Avenue and La Brea Avenue in the unincorporated Second Supervisorial District community of Ladera Heights/Windsor Hills – the Office of Supervisor Mitchell had been working with the Department of Public Works on speed reduction solutions to address speed racing in several communities throughout the Second District. The motion directs the Department of Public Works (DPW) to quickly expand on these efforts by developing a Community Traffic Safety Plan for Ladera Heights/Windsor Hills area and other high priority intersections that prioritizes speed reduction.
“While it is hard to imagine why someone would travel at such high speeds through a red light and into an intersection, the trauma caused by this tragic crash reverberates the need to expedite the County’s commitment to improving traffic safety in the areas at greatest risk for car crashes” said Chair Holly J. Mitchell, representing the Second Supervisorial District. “Regardless of where you live in the Second District or in LA County, our constituents deserve the right to feel and be safe traveling in their community. This motion is a call to action for the County to start where the need for traffic safety improvements is the greatest and to work efficiently to identify solutions and resources to quickly provide tangible safety improvements.”
The need to improve traffic safety has been an established priority for the County. In 2020, the Board approved the County’s Vision Zero Action Plan, an initiative to eliminate traffic-related fatalities by 2035. This motion seeks to accelerate the implementation of this plan by directing the Department of Public Works to collaborate with the Chief Executive Office and the Department of Public Health to identify funding sources and resources to actualize immediate and long-term traffic safety improvements.
“Our churches have buried enough victims from speeding, drunk driving, buzzed driving, and hit & runs. As community leaders, we commend Supervisor Mitchell for bringing forth this motion and will continue to collaborate with the County in taking actionable steps to stop the traffic fatalities, serious injuries, and trauma in our streets, because enough is enough” said Pastor Patricia Strong Fargas, Co-Chair of Faith for SAFE Streets.
Traffic safety cannot be realized without policy change and efficiently working across multiple jurisdictions and departments. To help achieve this, the motion will identify state and local policy reforms to allow the County to regulate excessive speeding including the use of automated speed enforcement and directs DPW to implement a third-party review of the County’s response to the August 4th crash to improve protocols for addressing emergency traffic related incidents.
